Christmas Time
by Whispering Lotus
Summary: It's Christmas and a lot happens. The stress, the preparations, and then a young blonde even builds up feelings for Santa... and vice versa O.o oh well Happy December to you. ...One-Shot...


**Not a long story ****^^ just a Christmas One-shot. I hope you like it. Sorry if it's boring -.- I know there are many mistakes and stuff in it too, it doesn't get any better though -.-'**

**I know it's too early, but I was in the mood to write something about Christmas.**

"Auntie please hurry up!"

"Wait wait, I'm coming. Stop before I loose you out of sight!"

"But Santa is here today, hurry up." The little girl vanished in between the many winter clad people. The young woman sighed "That child is worse than my brother when he was in that age... I see where she has it from though." She grumbled and started looking for her little niece.

After a couple of minutes she heard the deep laughter of "Santa". The little girl would surely be among the crowd of eager children. Santa was clad in red; he had a big, white beard and a big hat on top of his head. He must have felt quite warm.

"Auntie Rosette, I'm over here!" a little voice called. The young woman spotted her niece fifth last in the line to Santa. Rosette rolled her eyes and started heading towards her "Do never run away from me in a mall again understand?" she scolded, though smiled at the pouting face her niece was giving her "But Santa is here..."

"And he won't give you any presents if you don't behave." Rosette added and brushed a few stray, blonde strands away from her eyes. The little girl looked down "Yes Auntie..."

"That's good," she smiled at the girl, as her eyes were once again were aimed excited at the red clad man sitting up front, still so far away.

The line didn't seem to get smaller in Rosette's opinion. The children who had already been on Santa's lap, telling him their wishes were gone and replaced by new eager children. She looked down at her niece who almost jumped in excitement as she was almost first in line "It's my turn soon." She giggled and pulled forth a little note with the most important wishes.

The little note was full of drawings. One showed a little doodle of a cat, another of a doll with red curly hair, a third was a blue doll house, and many more. The little girl pulled at the hem of Rosette's skirt "Auntie?"

"What is it sweetie? You aren't getting cold feet now are you?"

The girl shook her head "No..."

"Well, what is it then?"

"Is that the real Santa sitting there?" the girl asked "There was a Santa outside too..."

"It's Santa's helper dear. He has helpers everywhere so he can prepare Christmas for us."

The child's eyes widened in amazement "Really?"

Rosette nodded "Of course. Santa is a very busy man. While his helpers are here, Santa is already preparing all the presents."

"Mine too?"

Rosette chuckled and ruffled the girl's hair "Of course. Oh see, it's your turn now." she smiled and followed her up to Santa's helper who was already waiting. He laughed his deep warm laughter and picked the little girl up so she could sit in his lap.

"Hello my little Angel," he greeted "What is your name?"

The girl blushed shyly "I'm Azzy." She mumbled, gripping the little wish note a little tighter "This is my Auntie Rosette." Rosette chuckled as Azzy pointed at her. Santa's helper turned his eyes towards the young woman "What beautiful names you have."

Rosette smiled back, but was then caught by something hidden behind the thick beard, underneath the white hair. It was his eyes. Eyes as red as blood were looking back at her. They were warm and she felt she couldn't look away. She couldn't help but blush as well as his eyes lingered on her for a while before returning to the child "Have you been a good girl this year little Azzy?" he asked. Azzy nodded "Mmm."

"Now tell Santa what you would like to get from him this year."

Azzy nodded and showed him her note. She explained every little detail about her wishes. She wanted to be sure she got the right things.

When she was finally done, the man chuckled "Oh my, Santa is gonna be veeeery busy this year." He said and poked Azzy's nose. Azzy giggled.

He set the little girl back down with a smile, then he stood up and stretched "My my, still so many children," he took a basket filled with candy and reached it around "This is for you, Santa needs a little break but will be back right away to hear all your wishes."

The children cheered and nodded. Santa smiled and turned to go into a room in the back. On his way there, when he was out of sight of the children, but not out of Rosette's sight, he took off his hat and wig, making a long mane of purple hair fall down over his back.

He let out a sigh, and brushed some sweat away from his forehead. He was really warm in that costume it seemed.

Azzy pulled at the hem of Rosette's skirt again. Rosette had wanted to see his face too, but the little girl had interrupted her "I'm hungry Auntie..." she complained. Rosette sighed "Fine, let's go find something to eat." She said and started walking off towards the area with small cafés and restaurants.

The rest of the day passed by, by shopping or just walking around. Azzy had big stars in her eyes as she came to the toy store. Rosette on the other hand really wanted to see how Santa truly looked. Those eyes had simply fascinated her.

When they drove homewards Azzy told her once again everything about how she had told Santa all her wishes and how sure she was to get them all. She repeated the whole story as soon as she came home. She ran into her daddy's arms and said "Daddy Daddy, I met Santa's helper today."

The young man smiled "Then I hope you have been a good girl and not caused your Aunt any trouble." He looked at Rosette. Rosette chuckled "No Joshua, Azzy has been a very good girl today."

Joshua wanted to invite her inside "Fiore has been making hot chocolate." But Rosette thanked no "I want to be home before it's too dark. You know how I hate to drive when it's dark out."

Joshua shrugged "Okay then, thank you for bringing Azzy to Santa today, if Fi hadn't been sick we would have done it ourselves."

"Oh don't worry," the blonde smiled "Just make sure that cold is over before Christmas Eve." She hugged her brother and Azzy and went back towards her car. Tomorrow she would go shopping in the mall again. She had found some really nice things for her brother and sister-in-law and of course her little niece.

Her apartment was dark when she came home. She lived alone. She had never found the one and only. She had dated a few, but none of them seemed to be the right one. She let out a sigh "Oh well... someday." At that moment the image of those crimson eyes showed up once again in her memory.

The next day the mall was just as crowded as it was the day before. People were stressed and annoyed by the smallest things.

"Oh you happy, merry Christmas time." Rosette grumbled after a man had yelled at her for bumping into him.

A new line of children were standing in front of where Santa was sitting. She saw it was the same Santa from yesterday. He was very busy at the moment. A young girl was sitting on his lap, her lips quivering as if she was about to start crying. Santa was of course trying to stop the waterfall in time. The blonde couldn't help but laugh a little at the sight.

She guessed she shouldn't stay and stare at him and looked down at a note she had made the day before and started collecting the items that were scribbled down on it. She found a lot, but some things were already gone. After about an hour, she had three bags full of Christmas things and presents.

One of the bags was so heavy though, that all the items crashed onto the floor through a rip in the bottom of it. She cursed and was lucky that none of the things in that bag were breakable "Now where do I find a new bag in this chaos?" she grumbled "I knew I should have brought it to the car before I continued."

All at once a foot smashed down onto one of the presents. A woman looked down annoyed and told her to clean up the mess before moving on. Rosette growled something after her, but she was already too far away to hear her. She picked up the broken item, which was a new doll for Azzy. Rosette cursed.

Angrily she collected everything into a big pile. She stood up and tried to gather it all in her arms, which of course didn't work at all. The smallest items slipped through them and landed back on the floor. She cursed under her breath "Dammit... why didn't I bring a cart?" she hadn't because it would have been too difficult to push around between the many people.

All of a sudden her eyes caught something red from her right. She turned her head and saw Santa standing there with a cart. He smiled and said "Saw you having trouble, so I decided to help."

"Oh thank you very much, that's so nice of you." she replied and started gathering her things to put them into the cart. Santa smiled "You're welcome, Rosette."

She looked up and blinked "You still remember my name?"

"Only yours. I can't remember the name of your cute little niece." He admitted.

"It's ok; I can imagine how hard it must be with all those names."

"I'm happy I'm free to go home soon." He smiled and let out a yawn.

"How long have you been working?" she asked.

"Oh today it was four hours. Three breaks. Two for eating, drinking and other important stuff and one break because I had to change trousers." He told her "A little boy got too nervous..."

She chuckled "How many children come to you every day?"

He looked thoughtful "I really don't know. A lot." He replied and laughed "A few of them even come twice to be sure I remember them." He took a look at his watch "Oh shoot, I better go. I bet the kids are already calling impatiently for me." He smiled once more "See ya!"

"Bye!" she called and watched him walk away. On the way there were a lot of children giving him hugs. He laughed his deep, warm laughter and wished them all a Merry Christmas.

They often met in the mall when he was at work, and from that day on, she always stopped to get a little chat with him when she was out shopping. Sometimes he had days off and wasn't there, but mostly he was. He often complained over sore legs "Those kids are big." He said "Yesterday I felt as though my legs would break off."

The man was never without his costume when they met "Don't want to destroy the kids' dreams." He told her wagging his finger "The pillow on my stomach is pretty warm though... the hat and the beard too." She had to laugh at that.

As days went and Christmas Eve came closer and closer she wasn't stressed at all. The Santa, who she now knew had the unusual name Chrno and much more, was a great helper in finding presents. He told her he was in training from hearing all the children's wishes. Soon she had a gift for almost everyone she needed to find a gift to.

Four days before Christmas Eve she was shopping groceries for the party. She had found a really nice gift for Chrno as well; whom she actually had grown quite fond of. He was sweet, funny and was always able to cheer her up should the stress suddenly decide to show its ugly face on her nonetheless.

She had been able to catch a small peek at his face when they had drunk coffee together one day. He had lift his beard to take a sip of the hot liquid and showed a very smooth chin. It was the total opposite of the big bearded chin he had when he had his costume on. He had covered his face fastly again when a pair of children had hurried over to him to give him a hug.

Rosette had found most of the things she needed on her list. The mall was full as ever so close to the big Evening. She had a hard time in getting forward and had to be fast too so the items she needed weren't snatched away right before her eyes.

When she was almost done she needed a break. She decided to visit Chrno and have another chat with him. She soon found him too, but the sight that met her, strangely enough made her heart ache.

Chrno was talking with a red haired young beauty. He was smiling widely as she gave him a hug and when she let go, she leaned up to peck his cheek after she had pulled the beard slightly down. The woman looked very happy and continued to talk and laugh with him.

Rosette let out a deep sigh "I better find the rest of those groceries..." she mumbled and pushed the cart back into the opposite direction and continued her shopping. She felt slightly depressed and sad for the rest of the day.

After she was done she went out to her car. She was loading all items into the trunk when a voice caught her attention "Hello Rosette! How are you?"

She looked up and found a grinning and waving Santa. She forced a smile "Hello Chrno, I'm fine thank you." She closed the trunk and turned fully towards him. His smile disappeared "What's wrong?" he asked, obviously noticing the falseness of her smile.

"It's nothing... I'm just tired." She replied "Been shopping all day." Her hand found its way into her pocket where the present for him rested. Her fingers curled around it and held it tightly. She asked him how his day had been. He kept watching her for a little while, tilting his head before answering "It was great. No too 'nervous' kids today." He was obviously trying to cheer her up "Seven crying kids though... I really should decide to use earplugs."

She chuckled "Then you wouldn't be able to hear their wishes though."

He sighed "True."

They stood chatting for a while before she told him she needed to get some of the things she bought, home into the fridge. He smiled "I guess you're right." He grinned "Won't have them ruined before the big Evening."

She got into the car and opened the window. He walked closer and grinned "You know. I really enjoy talking with you. You brighten up my day so to say."

She smiled "Thank you, you too." He stepped away from the car so she could drive out of the lot. She waved at him before she drove off homewards. He waved back of course, still that warm smile on his face.

She watched him disappear in the distance in the rear view mirror. She let out another sigh "Oh well... I can't change anything. I better concentrate on the preparing for Christmas Eve. I need a Christmas tree too."

She once more saw the picture of Chrno and the other woman in a tight embrace. She shook her head and decided to distract herself with some music. The Christmas carols were playing all the way home.

She had just entered the door and trudged into her living room, when she heard the telephone ringing. She hurried inside with the last things and answered it "Hello?"

"Hello Auntie!" she heard Azzy greet back with an excited voice. Rosette smiled "Hello little sweetie, how are you?"

"I'm fiiiine!" Azzy replied "We wanna go find a Christmas tree today, do ya wanna come too?"

Rosette couldn't help but chuckle at the pleading in her voice. If she had been standing in front of her, she would have been met by a giant pair of puppy dog eyes.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure to come with you hun." She told her niece, making her cheer "Yay," Rosette heard how the receiver was moved away from the girls mouth as she shouted "Daddy, Daddy, Auntie said yes!"

A little later Joshua was on the phone instead "Hello sis." He greeted a smile audible in his voice "So you're coming?"

"Yes Joshua, I'm coming. How is Fi?"

"Oh she's much better. She still needs to rest though." He answered back.

"That's good."

After a short silence, Joshua told her when they'd come and pick her up. She placed the receiver back and started to ready herself for when Joshua and Azzy would be there.

The drive wasn't too long. Soon they arrived at an area full of pine trees. Azzy was excited and was already on her way over to look at the trees closest to them. Joshua took the axe they were given; since Azzy had insisted on they cut down their own tree. Joshua and Rosette were walking next to each other, watching the eager little girl run back and forth and in between the many trees.

"You seem so happy lately." Joshua suddenly commented "Finally found someone special?"

Rosette blinked, then looked down "I've found a good friend, and that's all we'll ever be." She told him.

"Who is it? Someone I know?"

She smiled warmly "It's Santa." She replied. Joshua blinked confused "Huh?" she laughed, but was soon interrupted by loud yelling "Daddy! Auntie Rosette! I found one!!!"

The siblings looked up and started laughing. Azzy had found a tree, that was true, but it was far too big for their living room. Joshua told her so, which made her pout "But there is room for many presents." She said. Rosette told her to keep looking.

It took a long time, but finally, many trees later, they agreed on one. Joshua was strong and had it cut down in no time. They helped each other to carry it back to the car. Azzy was very proud; she was the one who found it "I wanna put the star on top." She told them excitedly. Joshua told her that it would be an honour for him to lift her up so she could do so.

On the way home, little Azzy fell asleep in her seat. Joshua glanced at Rosette "So?"

Rosette had been looking mutedly out the window. Now she turned her head to face her brother "So what?" she asked. He grinned "That went well didn't it?"

Rosette chuckled "Yea it did," she said and looked back out the window "It only took two hours this year."

"Maybe it's gonna be special this year." He commented "Maybe something very good is gonna happen."

Rosette let out a laugh "And what would that be? That you finally get that Play station thing?"

Joshua pouted "Not only kids can have fun with such a thing." He told her "But that wasn't what I meant."

"What did you mean?"

The young man let out a sigh "I was actually talking about you. Look... I have a beautiful Wife and a beautiful Daughter... and you are still single." He explained "When are you finally going to find someone you can share life with? You're pretty, you're funny, you should have hundreds of suitors by now."

"I've just not found Mister Right yet Joshua. I am not as lucky at it as you are."

"Then what about that friend of yours? Is it really just Friendship?"

She glared at him "Of course it is. Besides, he already has a girlfriend."

"Did he tell you so?"

"No, but I saw them earlier. Now change the topic please."

Joshua shrugged. He knew her well enough to let the topic fall when she was getting irritated. They were silent on the rest of the way home, only once in a while talking about random topics.

Fiore gave them a big, tired smile when they entered the door with the big tree "Oh it's beautiful."

Azzy told her proudly that she had found it and was given a hug. Joshua pulled the tree into the living room "It has the right size too."

Fiore stepped over next to him and pecked his cheek "You all did a great job Honey." Joshua draped an arm around the woman's waist and led her over to the couch "You should rest." He told her "I'll cook dinner tonight."

Rosette was invited to stay for dinner, but she thanked no "I'm sorry but I still have so much to prepare." She told them, whispering to Joshua "There are still many presents I need to wrap up." Joshua nodded and drove her home.

Finally it was the morning of Christmas Eve. Rosette was up early and went to the mall to buy something to wear. She decided she needed something new and drove off.

The place where Santa had been sitting was gone. She didn't see Chrno anywhere either. She guessed he was home preparing too. She found something hurrily and was soon back by her car. A man suddenly bumped into her, making her drop her bag onto the wet ground.

The man apologized and picked the bag up. He was tall and thin. He had long purple hair hanging down over his shoulders and back. He was wearing a thick sweater and a pair of black trousers. His bangs covered his face as he bent down, but when he straightened, Rosette suddenly recognized something familiar. He had a pair of crimson eyes.

"C-Chrno? Is that you?"

The man grinned "Hey Rosette, how are you?"

"Oh I-I'm fine. What about you?"

He shrugged "Well its Christmas Eve tonight," he said "So I'm not working as Santa anymore until 'maybe' next year." He suddenly looked like he remembered something "Oh yeah, I got something yesterday for you and your little niece." He told her with a big smile "Close your eyes please."

She did so and heard him pull something out from his coat pocket. Then she felt him place something on her head. He told her to keep her eyes closed. She smiled "Okay."

"Hmm..." he mumbled "No... Something doesn't look right. Wait a sec don't open your eyes yet." She felt how the thing on her head was removed and how he moved behind her. Then he parted her golden strands and started to braid them. She felt a shiver run down her spine as he touched her hair. A slight hint of pink started spreading on her cheeks as well.

"Almost done." He told her. After a couple more minutes, the thing was placed back on her head "There, much better."

"Can I look now?" she asked, feeling two braids on each side of her face. He nodded "Yea open up and look."

She opened her eyes and looked into the car window at her reflection. She couldn't help but laugh. On her head was a red hat like the one Santa was wearing. She turned her head to left and right to get a look at herself. Chrno was watching her, still a warm smile on his face.

"Do you like it?" he asked "I think you look pretty now."

She blushed a light pink colour "Yes I like it... thank you Chrno."

"No problem."

"Now it's my turn though." She told him with a smirk. He chuckled "Ok." She moved behind him and took a hold of his long mane "Why don't you pull it into a ponytail at least?" she asked as she started to braid the silky smooth strands. He shrugged "Too lazy I guess."

Her hands worked fastly through his hair, then tied it up with a yellow ribbon she had in her pocket from the present that was stepped on. She stepped back eying her work proudly "There, done."

Chrno looked at his reflection and laughed "Hey, you did very well Rosette." He told her "Thank you. For that you'll get big presents from Santa this year."

Rosette sighed, she wanted it to stay like this forever. She knew though it wouldn't. He had a girlfriend that he would hang out with and would probably soon have no time for her. When he didn't work in the mall, they would probably not see each other anymore. Only by coincidence.

He looked at his watch "Oh I'm just standing here talking while you have a lot to do."

She smiled "No it's ok, don't worry. I have most things prepared until now." she told him "How is your Christmas going to be?"

"Boring like always." He replied with a pout. Rosette blinked "Why?" she asked confused "Aren't you going to celebrate wit your girlfriend and family?"

Rosette had no idea why he suddenly started to laugh "No I'm not. The reasons are 1. My only family member left is my brother, and he's going to celebrate with his girlfriend... which I definitely won't join," he gave a shudder "Oh and 2. I have no girlfriend. If I did I wouldn't hang around in the mall in a Santa suit." He winked.

The blonde's eyes widened "O-Oh... ok..."

He looked back at her "How is your party going to be?"

"Well, I'm going to celebrate with my brother, sister-in-law and niece. It's always like that." She told him "We would still have room enough for one more if you like." She added so quietly, so he could ignore it if he didn't want to.

Chrno visibly brightened up "You think it would be okay with your family?"

"I can ask them. I'll call my brother." She replied, pulling out her mobile phone. Chrno stepped over and leaned against the side of the car next to her. It didn't take long before Joshua replied in the other end. Rosette greeted him and explained everything to him. He sounded thoughtful for a little while before answering "Sure, your friend is always welcome."

Rosette smiled "Thank you Joshua, you're the best."

"I know." Joshua said proudly "I'll see you later then."

"Yes, see ya. I'll bring the dessert too." She hung up and looked at Chrno "It's all settled." She grinned, making him smile back brightly "I'm very thankful Rosette." He told her "I almost wanna give you a big Santa hug."

She laughed "Then the Elf will get squished." She teased. Chrno looked like he was pondering something, then said "Oh well, I'll do it anyway." Then she was pulled into his arms and given a big bear hug. In that moment, she felt like the happiest person on the entire world.

When he let go, she looked up at him "I need to buy something important." She told him. He nodded "I need to buy something important too, now that I am going to a party." He winked. Rosette told him the address before they parted. She knew she had found a present for him, but she wanted to buy a little more.

That evening when she arrived at Joshua's place, he hadn't arrived yet. The blonde was still wearing the hat Chrno had given her. Azzy was jumping up and down "I can't wait." She repeated over and over. Joshua told her to help prepare the table. Fiore was feeling much better and was standing in the kitchen. Rosette went out to help her with everything.

"So who is this friend of yours?" Fiore asked the blonde after a while. Rosette told her everything and made her smile "Santa you say?"

Rosette nodded "Yea, so?"

"Oh nothing, you better behave then."

The two women kept chatting about this and that until suddenly the doorbell rang. Rosette heard how Azzy stormed through the hallway to the front door and opened it. A gasp escaped the little girl when she saw who was standing in the doorway.

Rosette recognized the deep laughter and chuckled.

"DADDY, MOMMY, AUNTIE! SANTA IS HERE!!!" Azzy yelled "AND HE HAS PRESENTS!"

The adults walked out into the hallway where they met Santa with little Azzy on his right arm and a bag in his left hand. He laughed and stepped inside. Joshua closed the door behind him, while Fiore led the man into the living room. Azzy was still clinging to him.

Rosette stood watching them while Azzy explained everything to him "This is our Christmas tree, I put the star on top." She told him proudly.

After he had placed the presents from his bag under the tree he told the little girl that he had to go "I need to visit all the children in this world tonight, so I better get going now. I wish you all a Merry Merry Christmas!"

Azzy nodded and squealed in delight as she examined all the presents under the tree.

Rosette led Santa out to the front door. Joshua and Fiore went back to the kitchen, preparing the rest of the dinner. Suddenly Santa looked up "Oh my... what have we here?" he asked with his deep voice "If it isn't a tradition I spy."

Rosette blushed "Oh... it certainly is. I should have known Joshua and Fiore would hang one of these up. They are such love birds." She said. Chrno grinned and before she knew it, they were locked in a sweet kiss, which in Rosette's opinion ended far too soon.

None of them noticed little Azzy watching them with a big grin on her face "I saw Auntie kissing Santa Clause." She told Fiore. The young woman smiled "A friend huh?" she whispered to Joshua, who also smiled. The blonde man pecked his wife on her cheek "It was about time she found someone."

After Santa had left, it strangely enough didn't take long before Chrno arrived. After the introduction, Azzy told him that Santa had been here. Chrno pouted "Oh what a shame. I was too late."

Azzy giggled "He wished us a Merry Christmas."

Chrno brightened "That was nice of him."

Fiore interrupted their talk when dinner was ready. Azzy jumped "Yay, Mommy's food is so good." She cheered and pulled Chrno towards the table. Chrno sat next to Joshua and Azzy, Rosette sat opposite him and Fiore opposite Joshua.

Rosette felt very strange. She almost didn't look at him during the whole dinner.

After dinner Azzy had an announcement to make. She told her parents and Joshua to sit down in the couch and said that she and Rosette would sing a duet. Rosette was pretty shy. Now that Chrno was here she didn't feel too brave to stand in the front and sing with Azzy.

Joshua, Fiore and Chrno were told to be quiet and just listen.

Rosette sat down on a little stool while Azzy stood next to her "It was all Azzy's idea." Rosette told them with a grin. The little girl nodded proudly and jumped over to the radio to find the right song they could sing to. Rosette had brought the karaoke version of it, which made it all worse in her opinion. What if her singing voice was horrible?

"_That kiss of his has made me so insecure." _She thought. She jumped as the music started and Azzy hurried over next to her.

To her surprise it all went quite well though. All three in the audience seemed to enjoy it and it made both singing birds feel much better. When they were done they got a huge applause. Rosette and Azzy bowed and couldn't help but grin widely.

Fiore got up "Now my singing birds, who wants a dessert?"

Azzy cheered "Yay me, me, me, Mommy!"

Joshua headed for the kitchen to get the dessert, while Chrno stepped over next to Rosette "You know you could get professional with that voice right?"

"It's not that good." She told him embarrassedly.

He poked his chest with his thumb "_I _think it was good." He said firmly "Now, how about we get some dessert." He held out his arm, waiting for her to take a hold of it. She chuckled and grabbed it, then he led them over to the table, where he stood behind her chair, then pushed it in after she had sat down.

While Fiore gave them all the dessert, she whispered into Rosette's ear "My, what a gentleman he is. You should get him before it's too late." Rosette shook her head "I'm sure he's only after pretty women." She whispered back. Fiore rolled her eyes "You'll never get him with that attitude." She grumbled and continued around the table.

The blonde pouted "So what?"

When they were finally done eating Azzy was bored "Mommy, Daddy... can't we open the presents now? Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaasssseee?"

"No, we'll first open the presents tomorrow morning." Joshua told her.

Rosette couldn't stand the sad look in her niece's eyes, and so she decided to help her "How about we only open a few presents and save the rest for tomorrow?" she suggested "I'm sure Santa will bring more presents while we all sleep."

Azzy nodded "Please Daddy? Pretty please?"

Fiore smiled at her husband fondly, finally making him give in "Oh fine, but only a few."

Azzy jumped into her father's arms and kissed his cheek "I love you Daddy." She grinned and hurried over to the tree. She picked up random gifts and gave them on to those they belonged to. When she found one for herself, she sat down and opened it.

Chrno got a present too. It was a red, comfy and warm pullover. He smiled "Thank you very much Rosette." The blonde chuckled "I thought red was the right colour for you." She said with a wink. Chrno nodded "And it is. I love red." He told her. Her heart skipped a beat from the overly warm smile he gave her. She felt her cheeks get warm and covered them with her hands as he looked elsewhere. How could he make her be like this?

Suddenly Azzy turned and looked out the window. She gasped and ran over to pull the curtains aside "LOOK, IT'S SNOWING!!!" she squealed "DADDY, MOMMY, AUNTIE, LOOK!"

The adults headed over to the window and watched as the white fluff fell from the sky and slowly covered the earth.

The rest of the evening passed by like this, and soon it was time for Chrno to go home. Azzy had fallen asleep on the couch with a happy smile on her lips. Joshua and Fiore thanked the young man for the nice and funny evening, and Rosette thought it was time to head home herself.

All were still full from the great dinner and Rosette said "I think it's going to be nice to walk home." She hugged her brother and Sister-in-Law and wished them a nice Christmas morning.

The blonde woman and Chrno walked down the street together, since he had to go into the same direction anyway. Suddenly he stopped, making Rosette do so as well. She asked what was wrong, but he answered that there was nothing "I just want to show you something, do you have time?"

She smiled "Sure I have."

He grinned and grabbed her by the hand. He led her further down the street, just before turning to a left. He continued that way and soon they arrived at a nice little park. Rosette actually wondered what he wanted to show her. They continued up a hill and then up some stairs.

Chrno smiled back at her over his shoulder and told her it wasn't far anymore. Then he stopped "Okay now don't look." He told her and covered her eyes with his hands. She was led further and soon he stopped again "Ok, now you can look." He removed his hands and what he saw made her gape "Oh... how beautiful..." she whispered and stepped closer to the banister.

From where they were, they could look out over the entire town. Christmas lights were sparkling like stars in all different colours and the real stars above were slowly appearing from their hide between the clouds. The snow had stopped, but would probably soon continue. Tomorrow the entire town would be covered in the white fluff.

She jumped when she felt an arm being placed around her shoulders. She turned her head and met a pair of warm ruby eyes. He smiled "You were shivering," he told her "So I wanted to keep you warm."

She blushed "Thank you." she dared move a little closer to his warm surface and felt her heart pick up speed.

Chrno cleared his throat slightly then started speaking "Uhm... you know," he began, getting slightly pink in his cheeks "I've really enjoyed this evening."

"I'm sure we all have. I'm happy that you could come." She replied and looked up at him.

"You know... you're very nice."

"You too." She answered, feeling he wanted to say more.

"So? Any plans for New Years Eve?"

She smiled warmly "I have no plans."

"Want to spend it with me? Santa is lonely New Years Eve." his head tilted a little downwards, but he still kept eye contact.

She giggled "I would love to spend it with you."

"A date?" he pulled her slightly closer.

"A date."

"Merry Christmas, Rosette." He whispered softly.

"Merry Christmas, Chrno."

Then he leaned down and pecked her lips with his. The cold long forgotten.

From now on, Rosette would no longer be lonely. No more would she envy her brother of having a family, and from now on, she would love Christmas more than ever.

**AN: Was the ending ok? Was the whole story ok??? I hope so -.- **

**I wish all a great December ^_^ and a happy 1. December.**

**Oh and thank you very much for reading ^^**

Until next chapter.


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